In 1983 Marietta Phinney, pianist and school play director, hosted 15 students in music and drama workshops, with a makeshift stage in her backyard on the side of a river. The program grew, in 1988 was incorporated as the Riverside Theatre Works School of Performing Arts, and moved to French’s Opera House on Cleary Square, Hyde Park. There it has blossomed—to over 300 students annually, and an audience of 10,000. Students take weekly classes in music, dance, theatre arts, and arts management, and produce quality theatre that is edifying as well as entertaining. Performing in school gyms, classrooms, or even cafeterias, they use the power of drama to teach problem-solving on drug abuse, violence, bullying, and teen pregnancy. They reach diverse community audiences with affordable ticket rates, scholarships and outreach programs, including a “Pay What You Can” special on Saturday matinees, in which one-third of the seats are set aside for whatever attendees can afford. Are they good? In 2006 Channel 4 voted RTW “Best Theatre in Boston.” They offered a musical theatre masterclass by Tony award winner Joanna Gleason, and their theatre arts curriculum is being used by Boston After School & Beyond as a model for after-school programs. You can make a big difference here.